AIISF Annual Benefit and Celebration

The AIISF Annual Benefit Immigrant Dreams: Hero Voices is our time to gather together to honor the footsteps of people from over 80 countries who immigrated through Angel Island. It also celebrates our future with inspiring examples of leadership.

2015’s Benefit and Celebration will be held on Saturday, April 11, 2015 at the Westin St. Francis in San Francisco from 6:00 – 9:00 PM. The General Reception starts at 6:00PM, with Dinner and the Presentation of the 2015 Immigrant Heritage Awards from 7:00 – 9:00PM.

Immigrant Voices Stories Initiative Greatly Expands

Thanks to a generous grant from the Henry Mayo Newhall Foundation, the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation will be greatly expanding Immigrant Voices, our living archive of West Coast immigration stories.

The $50,000 grant will allow us to increase our role as a critical resource for anyone interested in West Coast immigration, both past and present. We’ll be working with the public historian Leslie Madsen-Brooks to expand the usability of our web-based collection as a research tool for students and scholars. She will also advise us on how to more effectively solicit stories and highlight the detail, depth and personal significance of each story.

In addition, we’ll develop a new online story-gathering template that will make it easier and quicker to tell your immigration story. And we’ll be designing back-end features that will make those stories more readily accessible and searchable, increasing the visibility and use of these personal narratives. The grant will also allow us to edit and post 45 new stories from Immigration Station detainees.

We’ll also be building on our present archive webpage to make it more user-friendly and to accommodate video and audio stories. We’ll be able to better link our site to other organizations that serve diverse audiences with an interest in Pacific Coast immigration. And finally, the grant enables us to have a launch event in Summer 2015 to celebrate and explore the expanded collection.

One of the goals of AIISF is to have the Immigration Station story be as well known as the Ellis Island story. We want the West Coast immigration experience to be recognized in our national history and in today’s dialogues on immigration. With the Henry Mayo Newhall Foundation grant we’re taking enormous strides toward making this goal a reality.

Join our caring community of donors - Pacific Passages Circle

Help us in our efforts to lift unheard voices and stories of Pacific Coast immigration.

Restoration of the Public Health Service Hospital

During the hospital’s operation from 1910 to 1940, thousands of patients were inspected and treated there. Understanding its history sheds new light on the evolution of public health policies, yet its exhibits will celebrate the voices of the West Coast immigrants who passed through its doors.

Virtual Tour of Angel Island Immigration Station

Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation (AIISF) raises awareness of the experience of Immigration into America through the Pacific. AIISF collects and preserves the rich stories and personal journeys of thousands of immigrants, and shares them with visitors and everyone living in America through education initiatives and public programs. Angel Island Immigration Station reminds us of the complicated history of immigration in America. It serves as a symbol of our willingness to learn from our past to ensure that our nation keeps its promise of liberty and freedom.